November 30, 2023 One investment in the 2024 Federal Budget will make a difference in the lives of 12 million Canadians

Just over a year ago, Diabetes Canada joined our partners in the Federal Government to announce a national strategy for confronting diabetes called the Framework for Diabetes in Canada. It was a powerful move to tackle one of the most common chronic conditions in this country. Diabetes Canada has long sounded the alarm that Canada is experiencing an epidemic. Nearly 12 million people in Canada live with diabetes or prediabetes, each of whom has their own lived experience managing the condition, and unique needs and priorities—and those numbers are rising at an alarming rate.

Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes in this country. The release of the Framework provided a new approach to supporting people living with diabetes by recognizing that the landscape is more complex than simply “Type 1”, versus “Type 2”, versus “Prediabetes”.

The Framework reflects an understanding that, when it comes to providing support to people living with diabetes, needs differ from province to province and even between communities in Canada. For example, the Framework could address how rural and remote communities are 50% more likely to experience avoidable diabetes-related hospitalization, than people living in urban centers. When it comes to the risk of developing diabetes, the Framework can also help address the range of factors beyond environmental ones—like where someone lives.

For example, the experience and life factors associated with diabetes among the 1.7 million Indigenous Peoples in Canada is different and disproportionate to other populations—a legacy of colonialism. The prevalence of diabetes among First Nations adults living off reserve, Metis adults, and Inuit adults is 1.72 times, 1.22 times, and 1.18 times higher respectively than the prevalence among non-Indigenous adults.

For the first time, the unique requirements of different populations are reflected in the Framework. As a policy, the Framework for Diabetes in Canada has the potential to make significant improvements in the way our healthcare system manages care of diabetes.

However, while the Framework has been announced as a strategy, the Federal Government needs to make it a cornerstone commitment of the Federal Budget to make its promise a reality. Because the number of cases of diagnosed diabetes is rising at an alarming rate, we call on the Federal Government and Minister of Finance to invest at least $20 million a year for the next five years in the Framework for Diabetes in Canada to kickstart a fund-matching program. The advantages provided by using fund-matching as the delivery mechanism to meet the goals of the Framework are clear.

This program would allow individual Provinces and Territories to create and support diabetes initiatives that deliver the greatest benefit to the people who live with diabetes in their communities. Fund-matching encourages the development of community-driven initiatives to prevent or ease the impact of diabetes, giving more individuals the opportunity to participate in their own healthcare. It also provides a multiplier effect that allows other governments to do more, extending programs to more individuals and families, spreading the impacts over more territory, and making more money available to support local initiatives.

The development and announcement of the Framework for Diabetes in Canada represented a major health milestone for the Federal Government. Now, it requires federal investment to allow the great ideas to make a difference the lives of those who lives with diabetes. The Framework for Diabetes in Canada must be funded in Budget 2024.